He was both a revolutionary and a pacifist. He subscribed to traditional values, but was always ready to accept new ideas in a changing world. His commitment to Kashmiri liberation and his desire to win the Kashmiri people’s hearts and minds led him to strive all his life for an egalitarian culture in AJK. This meant interaction within local society, eliminating delays and red tape, and simplifying government decision-making. The task was an arduous one – as was making a dent in hardened official attitudes. But the late Sardar Abdul Qayyum was an extremely hard-working man and expected others to follow suit. He frequently lost patience when dealing with inefficiency and yet his capacity for forgiveness and his affection for his friends and workers is what I remember most.
Sardar sahib was born into a middle-class family and remained a commoner all his life: down to earth, never losing contact with ordinary people even when he served as the Prime Minister of AJK. He owned an ancestral home in his village and later built a modest urban house in Rawalpindi. Frugal, he usually ate one main meal of the day, but had a weakness for corn-on-the-cob, seldom missing an opportunity to visit his village in October to eat fresh cob grown on his own land. A devoted disciple of Pir Sahib Kaka Jee and a friend to his clan, Sardar sahib married his two sons, Khalique and Attique, into Kaka Jee’s family after the Pir’s death. He even spent several years living in a small bare room in the Pir’s house, eating whatever was available.
Sardar Abdul Qayyum – a man of the people
"If I were the PPP's secretary general, I would make it a real People's Party. Bhutto sahib's job would be much easier"
Sardar sahib greatly valued his party workers, freedom fighters and competent aides. Always ready to help, he charged me with finalizing several old cases in which he felt justice had been denied or delayed. These included a land compensation case in the infamous Rawalpindi Conspiracy Trial; the provision of an approach road to the now famous school at Rawalakot established by the Sardar Habib family; the land case of Mohammad Hussain Dharray, the 1944 hockey Olympian; and the reinstatement of the illegally removed Pathan engineer, Bostan Khan, who had been framed by his colleagues and subsequently removed from service. Unable to find justice, he became a recluse and a pauper. It was Sardar sahib who challenged the removal decision and had Bostan Khan’s post, promotion and financial dues reinstated.
Although he had never completed high school, Sardar sahib was learned in his own right. He worked hard, educated himself, used dictionaries extensively and asked questions incessantly. His memory and ability to grasp language were remarkable, and he became an excellent English writer and orator. This was clear from his interaction with hundreds of foreign delegates and the stirring lectures he delivered at institutions at home and abroad. Particularly impressive were his interviews with hardened anchors like the BBC’s Tim Sebastian and Zee TV’s Karan Thapar.
Sardar Abdul Qayyum Khan and Z. A. Bhutto
Working with him was an experience, especially when drafting important letters in times of conflict with the federal government. He would draft acrid letters – I would tone them down. Argument would ensue and he would alter my drafts beyond recognition. And then we would argue some more. My best efforts were perhaps when I was able to prevent him from a collision course with Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s government. Despite having written numerous angry letters to him, Sardar sahib greatly admired Bhutto. For his part, Bhutto watched Sardar sahib with interest and admiration. Indeed, Sardar sahib once remarked, “If I were the PPP’s secretary general, I would make it a real People’s Party. Bhutto sahib’s job would be much easier.”
Sardar sahib repeatedly advised Bhutto to keep Pakistani political parties away from AJK, saying it would escalate local conflict and dilute unanimous support for the Kashmiri cause. But Bhutto did not listen and the PPP found its way into AJK – he wanted the Muslim Conference’s monopoly broken. The federal government would not allow Sardar sahib a free hand in Pakistan. His confrontation with Islamabad reached its peak during the Islamic Summit when the government did not want to see him in Lahore. But Sardar sahib was determined to take advantage of the various Islamic leaders’ presence. The relevant literature was updated and printed, and special folders containing his letters to the heads of state were prepared. Delivering the materials to their recipients fell to sympathetic Foreign Office officials.
When Sardar sahib’s briefing on Kashmir with foreign correspondents at Lahore’s Pearl Continental Hotel was cancelled by the administration, he simply told the hotel he would hold the briefing in the lawn. Tensions grew as Muslim Conference workers made the necessary arrangements. It was then that Sahibzada Rauf, IGP Punjab and previously IGP AJK, asked me to convey a message: Cancel the press conference or face arrest. I told him that it would not be Sardar sahib’s first one and that doing so would be damaging to the federal government.
Once, at a dinner hosted for Bhutto by President Sardar Ibrahim in 1975, Khan Hamid, the new Prime Minister of AJK, complained that important matters in AJK received no attention. Bhutto retorted, “You only sit and complain. You have to move. How many times have you written to the federal government? Sardar Qayyum has made my life miserable with letters about important AJK issues. You should learn from him!”
Sardar sahib never subscribed to the ordinary definition of “merit”. He once said that merit was proportionate to the sacrifice one made for the liberation of this territory – it wasn’t just about school marks. This was something we disagreed on during my tenure as principal secretary to the Prime Minister and ACS Planning and Development. I once presented a stack of files on new ad hoc entrants who had been selected on the basis of an examination. Sardar sahib wanted the son of a freedom fighter appointed. I refused to recommend the boy because he had not performed well. He found I was adamant, threw down his pen and stopped working. I wondered what the point of a Prime Minister was if he could not even appoint a temporary Grade 16 officer. He ignored me for two days and then went ahead and approved the file anyway.
Kashmir was the cause closest to his heart and everything he did was truly for its people. He lobbied for the territory on a grand scale, touring foreign countries, speaking with opinion makers, inviting and hosting influential foreign delegations, and encouraging journalists and writers from abroad to write about Kashmir. He regularly attended OIC and Friends of Kashmir meetings in European parliaments and maintained good relations with the All Party Hurriyat Conference, often citing it as a representative organization that he would gladly follow. Above all, he made considerable efforts to bring all shades of opinion onto one platform and his carefully selected team of assistants reflected his thoughts on Kashmiri consensus.
